A Network of Comparisons and Contrasts in Dylan Thomas's

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Introduction

A Network of Comparisons and Contrasts In Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" and Catherine Davis's "After a Time," there is a very clear concept of differences and similarities between the two poems. From a reader's standpoint, they seemed to be quite a bit more alike than dissimilar. Through an investigative analysis, "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" and "After a Time" were proven to be comparable in almost every aspect in poetry, such as structure, rhyme scheme, and meter. At a first glance, both poems strike as death related pieces of writing. That is where the contrast of the two is distinguished. "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" sees death as something we can fight to avoid. If one is able to "rage, rage against the dying light," he or she will be able to shy away from this life-ending situation. This author states that no matter the person or circumstances, everyone should envision death as a negative thing and resist as long as possible. ...read more.

Middle

The more death and loss that occurs signifies less that is still to come. In stanzas two and three, wit is discussed. One can use his or her wit to shame others, but that luck is unable to beat the game of death. One can rage as much as one wants, but in the end it is still all there. These facts are talked about in both stanza four and stanza five. The final stanza puts a quite depressing view on death. The author bluntly tells us to go gently because we will no longer need the things of today. Also, it expressed that all death is the same, and one will go out of the world just as he or she came in - equal. As far as structure goes, these two poems are almost identical to one another. Iambic pentameter is both of their foot arrangements. With five feet, they each included one unstressed followed by one stressed syllable. As an overall unit, the poems stand as villanelles. ...read more.

Conclusion

With the villanelle structure still intact, one finds every other line to end with the same phrase. The two phrases in "Do Not Go..." are "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Dylan 1412) and "Do not go gentle into that good night." (Dylan 1412) In "After a Time," there is "And we go stripped at last the way we came" (Davis 1414) and "After a time, all losses are the same." (Davis 1414) The last stanzas also end with the same as the first in both poems even though that does not meet the pattern to perfection. Another interesting point is that the second stanzas last line in both poems contains the title of that particular selection. In conclusion, these poems, "Do Not Go into That Good Night" and "After a Time," are not completely the same, but they do prove to have a vast amount of similarities. Opposite meanings do not always signify a conflict in structure. The arrangement of the poems is nearly exact to one another, and they can be picked apart to find even more complex likenesses. A deeper understanding can be found of both of these pieces just by going into a detailed comparison and contrast. ...read more.

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